Dear Vetsolutions,
I have owned a long-established small
animal practice for the past 16 years,
but have noticed recently that some
of my “regular” clients have stopped
attending. I am not sure whether they
have had no reason to seek my services
or have decided to go elsewhere but I
would like to take some positive action
to arrest this decline. Do you have any
suggestions?
Practice Owner, Chester
Dear Sir,
In these times when clients are
watching
every penny,
practices need to develop
rigorous
processes that
build loyalty
and ensure
that clients,
both new and long-standing, are given
no reason to look elsewhere for their
veterinary services.
This challenge has been exacerbated
in recent years both by the recession,
which has hit the pockets of the
hard-pressed consumer, and by a
distinctive change in the market’s
landscape brought about by the growth
in corporate chains, some of which are
tempting clients using discounts and
other promotions with which smaller
practices are often unable to compete.
Top priority
The competition for clients has
increased in recent years as customers
look for value for money in every
sector; from utility companies, banks
and yes, veterinary practices. So
keeping clients happy has become
a top priority for all businesses, but
particularly so for small and medium
enterprises, for whom every lost client
represents a sometimes signi cant loss
in revenue.
Customer happiness is very much
to do with individual expectations
of what a veterinary practice should
deliver; for some this is availability
when they need it, or specialist care when the need demands; for others an
efficient and friendly reception team is
tangible evidence of a well-run practice
and often the assumption is made that
if the front desk is efficient, the quality
of clinical care will be high.
One method that can be used to
better understand the needs and
wants of clients is to conduct a simple
questionnaire.
In this way you can acknowledge
where your clients’ priorities lie
and if you are able you can try and
match your services to meet their
expectations.
Creating a questionnaire can sound
like quite a challenge; however, if
you keep it short and simple, ask
for quantitative as well as qualitative
answers and ask clients to complete
it whilst they are waiting, you should
achieve relatively reliable results.
As well as providing an insight into
customer feelings, a questionnaire also
creates a secondary advantage, in that
most clients are happy to be asked their
opinion on services and value the fact
that you are taking their views into
account.
Client satisfaction and loyalty
is largely determined by personal
experience of the practice and the
“client journey” should be as smooth
and hassle-free as possible, particularly
in regards to organisation and clinical
care.
It is important at all times to portray
an image that exudes con dence and
every element of the client experience
is important with even the smallest
details being taken care of.
Time is precious
For instance, keeping waiting times
to an absolute minimum reduces the
chances of animals becoming anxious
and managing the waiting room
should be achievable using a practice
management system that controls
appointment books and monitors
forward booking capability.
Remember, your clients’ time is
precious and unnecessary waiting
simply serves to increase unease and
dissatisfaction.
Your practice management system
is definitely an asset when it comes to
greeting clients and small details such
as knowing an animal’s name make all
the difference – this information is
easy to retrieve from a computerised system. Computerised appointment
books and forward booking procedures
make it relatively easy to keep to time,
and even if this is not always possible,
keeping clients informed is an excellent
way of reinforcing your reputation as a
caring practice.
Once in the consulting room, having
all the relevant information about the
patient immediately to hand again
provides a sense of confidence and
although you can’t always immediately
remove the discomfort of the animal,
you can underpin the quality of your
clinical care with a high standard of
organisational efficiency.
An integrated system that has all
the relevant data, including previous
treatments, images and x-rays, etc.,
within the patient record makes
retrieval easier and once again
portrays an image of confidence and
professionalism.
Developing a loyalty scheme
is something that many practices
undertake and is, by definition, an
excellent way of rewarding clients
who show loyalty to your practice, but
some are dissuaded from implementing
such schemes due to the perceived
complicated logistics involved.
Recording benefits
In fact, schemes can be run very
efficiently from within your practice
management system, enabling you to
apply membership dates, adjust charges
and apply annual
membership fees if
applicable.
Scheme benefits can
also be recorded in
the database, making
future reporting very
accurate and providing
data on a client’s
scheme status, in
terms of what benefits
they are entitled to,
what they have used
and what remains on
the scheme.
In addition, reports
on the cost of the scheme to the
practice means owners are able to
monitor the financial viability of a
scheme and adjust accordingly.
Communication, both verbal and
non-verbal, is one of the best ways of building client loyalty, so talking to
clients whilst they are in the practice
is very important, as is maintaining
contact when treatment has finished
and sending reminders about routine
appointments or that medicines are
ready for collection.
This style of communication, sent
to clients using their preferred method
(email, text, phone, etc.), is firm
evidence of a practice that has animal
welfare and client satisfaction at its
heart.
Newsletters, e-shots, text messages
and now social media are all excellent
ways of keeping your practice at the
forefront of clients’ minds. A practice
newsletter keeps clients informed
about the practice; staff changes, latest
treatments or the introduction of the
latest technology all of which serve to
build loyalty and encourage referral of
family and friends.
Newsletters no longer have to
be printed and mailed to patients,
although this is still the preferred
option for many practices. Newsletters
can be created and mailed electronically
straight to a client’s inbox or to their
mobile phone.
These fast, immediate techniques
suit the lifestyle of many clients and
are proving to have a positive impact
on a practice’s ability to communicate
effectively.
Client loyalty is one of the most
valuable assets your practice has, but it
should not be taken
for granted. No
matter how loyal you
think your clients
are, you need to
have a client-centred
ethos that pervades
every aspect of your
practice and one that
is carried out by your
staff every day.
In addition, a
robust management
system that enables
you to track clients
and animals and establishes efficient processes for
creating and sending appointment
reminders and general communication
will help you maintain a loyal client
base and run an efficient practice long
into the future.
